But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. (Psalm 10:14; NIV)

We live in a time where we have many fatherless children; I do not mean just the children who have no fathers at home, but also those who live in a home where the male does not act like a father. It is as if they have a mentality that says their function in life is to bring children into the world and then have nothing to do with them like many "fathers" in the animal kingdom.

What I am about to say can happen in any family; rich or poor; black or white, it makes no difference, if there is no leading male in the house, male AND female children will look for ways to fill that void and that is just what it is, a void; something needs to fill that space and it is usually filled with (for male children/teens) someone who shows some kind of backbone, someone who will show they have a family, even if that family is a gang. For the female child/teen it is someone who will show them the male love they have been missing which a true father gives, but here it may be that they will do anything to receive attention that they are not getting at home -- often it is the wrong kind of attention and we have a cycle perpetuated; a fatherless child at home.

Here is the catch; there is always a father figure available, our Heavenly Father. I will not say that life completely changes and there will be no more problems if you turn to God but, I will say life is a lot better because He is always there. He never gets "fed up" and leaves, He never goes out for a drink (or something else) and comes back home violent and abusive, taking it out on the most precious thing in the word, the life of a spouse or child. He has nothing but wisdom, kindness, understanding, and best of all He IS Love.

We can all learn from Him; males can learn how to be a father, and females can learn that a man should respect and honor them -- this is something they deserve and not something they have to purchase with their affections.

We have a Heavenly Father and He is our guide on how to be an earthly father, so let's use His guide and become the parents we should be; loving, concerned, involved parents; parents that want the best for their children and will do anything to see they get it, like calling upon our Heavenly Father for help and direction. It is a great place to go and He will always answer.